Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Cleaning after hardcast lead

This

And this

Used this method for years===> Works fast

Don't waste your time with solvents.

Jerry

Says the guy who thinks you need or want solvent to get lead out of a barrel.

Enjoy your schitty cast bullets and scuzz pads.

Some of us know what we're doing.

Sig Sauer armorer course instructors told us emphatically not to shoot jacketed bullets as a way to clean leading out of a barrel because the bullet tends to ride over the lead and actually expand the inside diameter of the bore by a few ten-thousandths of an inch. According to them, since rifling is only a few thousandths deep, it doesn't take much before accuracy is noticeably affected. This was in the days when Sig only had the 220, 226, etc. series, so I don't know if this still holds true with later models, or barrels with polygonal rifling.

I’m sorry but I don’t buy what the armorer ims selling.

I’m a Kroil user too

Sorry can't buy that either its more than a stretch..I've used this method for years to clear fouling and lead build up. Certainly not a total fix but it works well for handgun and many rifle applications. Hot gases from jacketed bullets make lead flow not compact..Total hog wash IMO.

Lewis lead remover from any gun store...

Not if your using a solvent to remove lead instead of wrapping a copper scrubber like chore boy/curly kate/etc. around a worn bore brush.

Jerry

I wouldn’t do that on a dare.

Get real man.

It's 2019 for fugk sake.

What Flem is saying is partially correct.

The lead becomes molten and wipes as a jacketed bullet travels through it from friction and stress applied, but leading is not ever caused by powder gases. Its thermal breakdown of something with a low melting point, compared to barrel steel and copper alloy jackets.
Anyone ever recovered a jacketed bullet used this way?

The lead basically smears on the bullet jacket.

Solvents don't do much, but they help remove powder fouling and don't hurt.

The Sig armorer is basically describing a barrel obstruction; regular frost leading doesn't apply.

For those of you that swear by solvents alone your kidding yourselves, test them on a peace of lead..I have because I shoot primarily cast in all my revolvers and vintage rifles, you will change your mind because you'll only get some discoloration...As Hawk said it doesn't hurt that's fact and removes the majority of fouling and carbon..I was an Air Force armorer worked on everything from 20 mike to .223 and we never once used a solvent for barrel issues.

BTW
proper bore prep and cleaning helps a great deal if you want to get the best cast bullet performance and accuracy
if you clean the bore very carefully
cleaning the bore Of each firearm with a lot of solvent soaked patches,
(old cotton sheets cut into 1"x 3" rectangles work ok on most rifles )
and a brass bore brush until you have no trace of jacket or lead fouling,
then , after the bores squeaky clean, soaking a couple patches , until they drip, with moly spray and working it back and forth in the bore surface, and repeatedly soaking those patches with moly, to coat the rifling with a good film of moly, then swabbing the bore clean with a solvent patch and dry patch, seems to very noticeably reduce future bore fouling
Moly exists as microscopic hexagonal crystal platelets Several molecules make up one of these platelets. A single molecule of Moly contains two sulfur atoms and one molybdenum atom. Moly platelets are attracted to metal surfaces. This attraction and the force of moving surfaces in contact, rubbing across one another provide the necessary thermochemical reaction necessary for Moly to form an overlapping protective coating like armor on the rifle bore surface, This protective armor coating has a number of properties that are very beneficial for your rifles bore surface

The Moly platelets that make up the protective layers on your bore wall surfaces slide across one another very easily. Instead of metal rubbing against metal, you have Moly platelets moving across one another protecting and lubricating the bore to projectile surface contact

This coating effectively fills in the microscopic pores that cover the surface of all micro bore imperfections making them smoother. By filling in the craters and pores Moly improves this seal

This overlapping coating of Moly also gives protection against loading (perpendicular) forces. The high pressures that occur between these moving surfaces that tend to squeeze normal lubricants out.



repeating the process at each after range bore cleaning,will over a short time provide a smoother bore that tends to collect less lead fouling
noticeably LESS if done consistently, and NO it won,t build up enough to change bore diam. or increase pressure, and no you can,t see it in the bore.

Unless your barrel is junk or there is a real concern for rust, correctly done cast doesn't require cleaning, special prep or anything else. Lead, a good quality bullet lube and powder fouling actually maintain a "dirty mirror" appearance virtually forever.

I generally wipe the outside good with Kroil and never clean handgun barrels, but I realize some people have to keep everything spotless.

Is anyone old enough to remember leaded gasoline? You know why that lead was in there...

Or sulfur in diesel fuel.....

How many cast bullets did the military shoot through those barrels?